1. I love Hungarian Paprika, but have been using my Spanish Paprika purchased when in Spain a few years back. Any will do just fine, but if you find some of these others, splurge.
2. You can use a 'light' or reduced fat sour cream with fine results.
3. I can cut the butter down to 1 tbsp in the first portion but recommending sticking with the 5 tbsp in part 2 – so your roux works out.
4. The original author of this recipe always puts a ‘couple of teaspoons’ of Worchester and Tabasco sauces to his stock. (I SO want to visit the Moosewood Cafe someday!)
5. For those vegetarians, you can substitute a vegetarian stock, although the beef stock gives it a real richness if you're not serving any vegetarians.